movie rec: Roman Holiday

movie rec: Roman Holiday

the wisdom of Blanche Devereaux

the wisdom of Blanche Devereaux

Betty Grable

Betty Grable

jayne mansfield

jayne mansfield

Happy Birthday to my favorite Mom!

She's hip

She's stylish

She's funny

She's generous

She's our favorite. <3 p="">

Love you Mom!

Marilyn Monroe, 1951.

Marilyn Monroe, 1951.

eshakti custom sizing & "fatshion"

I had learned about Eshakti a couple of years ago and then completely forgot about them until Kristine brought them up a few weeks back. They have so many cute retro styled garments, they're worth a look for inspiration if nothing else. Check out this gorgeous 40s-esque number in their sale pieces:

The company has a really interesting concept: All garments are available in every size 0-36W, AND you can order a custom fitted garment by entering a selection of measurements on the website (for an additional $7.95 per garment). I would pay an additional $7.95 for a custom fitted dress. Wouldn't you?

The prices are extremely reasonable too. So reasonable, that I had my suspicions and went on a google hunt for reviews. Most are positive. The one blog I found with a negative (and it wasn't so much fit as it was dress length) was a sewing blog...aren't we sewists the pickiest when it comes to garments? The comments on that article had interesting negative "reviews" too, so it's possible the negatives aren't getting talked about I suppose.

The funniest article though (by far!) was on XOJane by Leslie, titled: "How I shop for basically all my plus size clothes online." HIGHLY recommend a read, because A) I hooted, and B) there are some cool sites and tips in both the article and the comments.

I'm most definitely bookmarking Leslie for further reading. She's hilarious and down to earth and my kind of girl.

So how about all you sewing enthusiasts out there? Should I use the website for inspiration or give in to temptation and see if the customization really works?  More inspiration:

You see my problem now, don't you.

Love your thoughts people of the interwebs! <3 p="">
**NOTE: The dresses, I've discovered, are made in India. I'm still investigating the fair labor practices for the factory and will update if I find anything newsworthy. Yeah, I know. Most people don't care. I care.**

To Shirley

There wasn't a single day of my childhood that I didn't want to be Shirley Temple. (Except maybe the days I wanted to be Judy Garland.)

Growing up during that quaint time period (BC: Before Cable), I had PBS to entertain me after school and on the occasional weekend night. My local PBS station ran a classic movie every Saturday night, and I lived for the weeks the feature was a Shirley Temple film.

For my 5th Christmas, Santa brought me a Shirley Temple doll, and I have her to this day (sans panties and shoes, but still in her original white with red polka dot dress). She was a beloved playmate, always my favorite, never eclipsed.

The first set of movies I ever bought my daughter, once I was a grown up, was not about Disney princesses or fantasy animals come to life; it was a box set of Shirley Temple movies. My Lu loves Shirley too.

Rest in peace, Shirley. You will be missed. 

Canvas Storage "Bucket"

I promise I'm not turning into an anthropologie knockoff blog (altho...would that really be such a bad thing??)

Fell hard for this storage basket from the anthro site this weekend:

chevron pop canvas basket

Something that's actually an easy-to duplicate project.  If you're not at all familiar with creating a pattern for something like this by hand, there are several tutorials on the internets. This one looks good and even has measurements.

The anthro basket isn't horribly priced, but who knows about the fabric quality. When you make your own, you can customize the fabric and quality (and this project wouldn't take much fabric either, so you could invest in the good stuff).

There are lots of canvas and twills at Fabric.com. Love love love this one (and bonus! it matches my bathroom cabinet):

waverly sand art

I still haven't sewn a seam yet this month. But hey! There are a few more days left in January. It could happen.  I need to clean and oil my machine first. Poor baby.

Anthropologie Knockoff Alert: BurdaStyle 2/14 #111

I was browsing Anthropologie this morning (normal Saturday morning event) and noticed this charmer:

flutter sleeve tee

Which is practically a dead ringer for tee #111 in BurdaStyle's February issue:

Tee #111 also has a dress version, so you could lengthen it to match the Anthro top. I think I actually prefer the square neckline and raglan sleeve of the BurdaStyle tee, but if you really like the yoke/sleeve combo thing of the Anthro top, the same issue also has this top, Tee #137 in the Plus section:

Combine the two and presto-chango-voila! Knockoff.

I'm still planning my next project (MY FIRST PROJECT OF 2014!), but I'm leaning heavily toward the Colette Hawthorn:

I definitely plan on the top version at some point, and it will most assuredly be in a polka dot (swoon!) but I really love the dress and I have no idea what stash fabric will end up being used, but I'll keep you posted.

At some point I should probably finish the Colette Crepe I have started too. Hey, it's only a year after I started it. :P

Happy weekend sewing!

Skirt Pattern Investigation

Bet y'all thought I was never going to mention sewing again, huh??

I was so excited to get my February Burda Style magazine (the real one, not the US knockoff) because of THE BACK COVER!!!

It features this skirt in the red lace overlay version:

What can I say? That skirt speaks to me. Lace overlay. Casual chic chambray. Swishy half circle goodness. Shaped almost yoke waist. *love*

Unfortunately I can't find it on the Simplicity.com site, but I found it on this German site. I'm not sure if that means it's an old pattern or a new pattern? I'm hoping new so I can pick it up! Because I also love that center view, the red & white wide stripes! (Reminds me of a Kate Spade skirt from a couple of years ago).

If I can't find it, I'm fairly certain I can wing this one on my own though. Finding the lace will probably be the hardest part! But mmmm-hmmm, I am certainly going to give it my best shot.

What's in your sewing basket for (not even close yet) spring??